Last 10 years of arsenal

[Sir C]

Well quite. What irritates me is that more time isn't spent outlining just how monumentally thick these people are. They deserve nothing but contempt and ridicule, but instead are treated as though they are some sort of embodiment of 'long-suffering fans'.

Before long they'll be classified as 'survivors', like someone whose uncle once touched their knee.

Victim culture, you see. 70 years of socialism.

[Ash]

I am somewhat bemused by the idea that there is something wrong with a man who buys a business quite legally taking money for himself out of that business.

Isn't that sort of what businesses are for?

Is there any point at which you might not cheer the man on for taking money out? Presumably if he pulled a Glazer you'd still have no problem with it. If he could asset-strip the club to death and still make himself a profit would that also be ok?

Do I have to do the entire schpeel about how football isn't the same as other business and not subject to all the same market mechanisms ... again?

[Ash]

I actually think it's the other way around; if we had better finishing, he wouldn't need to create so many chances.

We'll never keep him. He's such a beautiful player.

[IUFG]

"sack the board" innit.

hmmmmm, WHO is actually going to do this 'sacking' I wonder ?

[The Jorge]

I am somewhat bemused by the idea that there is something wrong with a man who buys a business quite legally taking money for himself out of that business.

Isn't that sort of what businesses are for?

We he's legally entitled to take whatever dividends he wants, he hasnt.

He has charged two lots of Consultancy Services against the club for 3m a piece in the last two years, which are pretty valid after a cursory glance at their justifications at the last couple of AGMs.

Place this against something like the Glazers who take around £36m a year from united for 'services rendered' on top of loading the club with leveraged debt - on which servicing the intrest costs tens of millions a year - plus a consultancy fee for each and every financial restructuring.

Love or hate the Wiggy Walmart Heir you have to admit it's small beans. The main issue people have is that he isnt backed by a massive sovereign wealth fund and isnt pouring it into the club. I think Roman even charges his 'investment' back as loans. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

[Sir C]

Is there any point at which you might not cheer the man on for taking money out? Presumably if he pulled a Glazer you'd still have no problem with it. If he could asset-strip the club to death and still make himself a profit would that also be ok?

Do I have to do the entire schpeel about how football isn't the same as other business and not subject to all the same market mechanisms ... again?

Hold on, hold on, just because you wish that football 'isn't the same as other business' doesn't make it true. He owns the majority of the shares, making him, in effect, the owner, and in accordance with the laws governing any business, football included, he can do what he wants with it.

[The Jorge]

Is there any point at which you might not cheer the man on for taking money out? Presumably if he pulled a Glazer you'd still have no problem with it. If he could asset-strip the club to death and still make himself a profit would that also be ok?

Do I have to do the entire schpeel about how football isn't the same as other business and not subject to all the same market mechanisms ... again?

The pragmatism of my view on this surprises some people, I know, but seriously all things are relative, no? Relatively speaking we're very well placed for an absentee foreign owner.

Stan's game is extracting the value out of his investment upon sale, it's a different model from an asset stripper.

[The Jorge]

Yes, it's a spectacular misunderstanding of corproate governance

[Burney]

Do I have to do the entire schpeel about how football isn't the same as other business and not subject to all the same market mechanisms ... again?

Tell that to Uncle Stan's accountant. Businessmen spend money in the hope of making money. Should the purchase of a football club be a charitable venture?

And actually, given our turnover, what he has taken out of the business is peanuts.

[barrybueno]

He's got terrible hiccups imo